Do you remember the Smothers Brothers? Maybe I’m aging myself, but they were “must see tv” for me growing up. Marcy, wife of Tom Smothers is a celebrity in her own right (co-host with Food Network’s Guy Fieri of the Guido and Marcy Show), is a tireless campaigner for the Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation. It is largely through her efforts, kicked off with the release of Toy Story II with John and Nancy Lassiter of Pixar Studios, that the Foundation recently completed a campaign that raised over $5 million to improve the lives of abused, neglected and abandoned children in Sonoma County, California.

From their site:
The Valley of the Moon Children’s Center is a complex consisting of the existing Valley of the Moon Children’s Home and a new adjacent building. It is located at 112 Children’s Circle in Santa Rosa, California.

Completed in February 2009, the final building is adjacent to the existing Children’s Home. It is approximately 22,500 square feet and contains new space for the Redwood Children’s Center. Additionally, there is space for enhanced services for all Sonoma County foster children and foster parents including:

* medical and dental services for foster children;
* a specialized infant and toddler area for emergency placement and for foster parent respite care;
* space for counseling and visitation for foster children;
* space for activities related to foster parent recruitment, retention and support;
* an admissions area for the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home;
* office space for the coordination of volunteer services.

Marcy Smothers at the Opening

Marcy’s personal story about how she became involve is quite touching and shows a real love of children and a commitment to this cause.

How were you first introduced to Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation and what caught your attention?

In 1990, Tom and I were leaving Vineyards Inn, a local restaurant at 9:00P. I heard kids’ voices close to the parking lot and knew something was not right. It was late and not an area where kids should be. I asked Tom to put his headlights into the adjacent field and saw three small boys. Two of them took off from me but I coaxed one to stay and talk with me. His name was Nick and he was nine. He told me he had runaway from “the home” but I only heard “home.” Moments later several vans and the police arrived. It turned out that Nick had runaway from “the home” – the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home.

Before they took Nick back, I asked if I could visit him the next day and the staff member accompanying him enthusiastically agreed.  The home wasn’t easy to find. At that time the county was quite secretive of the location in an effort to protect the children. Until that day I was unaware that the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home was (and is) Sonoma County’s only twenty four hour shelter for abused, abandoned and neglected children.  Not only did I connect with Nick, who is still part of my life today, I became dedicated to all the children.

How has it personally enriched your life?

I recall vividly the moment I knew what that the past fifteen years has given me. I was taking a group on a tour of our new facility. One of the teenagers that has bounced in and out of foster care and in and out of the home was sitting on the couch. She saw me first and called out, “Marcy….it’s me Melissa. I missed you so much!” I can still feel her lingering hug. It’s not things these kids care about, it’s that someone cares about them. I do and it makes me very happy.

What message would you like to share?

My grandmother Vera taught me by example that the greatest gift is the gift you give to others.
She had a modest lifestyle, however she had a food and clothes closet in her home. The department of Social Services in Los Angeles constantly referred emergency cases to her. Whenever there was a great sale or extra cash she stocked her closets. We always made food baskets for poor families for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We shopped for the food and the presents ourselves. She had rummage sales, not just to raise money, but also so the disadvantaged could afford nice things. She laundered all the clothes and pressed them so they would be like new.
Although the ability to write a check is wonderful, my grandmother believed that working with the people you are helping, to look them in the eye, was the ultimate act.  I believe that as parents one of the best things we can do is model the behavior we want our children to emulate, including contributing to our community.

How will you spend your Mother’s Day?

In addition to being a board member for Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation, I am part of the Children’s Home Auxiliary aka the Cha Chas. We always spend the Friday before Mother’s Day with the children making cards and gifts for their moms. No matter how traumatic their circumstances, the kids take great delight in expressing their love for their moms. It’s a rewarding and sentimental day. On Sunday, I’d like to go to the local bookstore with my family, get new books and hang out in the afternoon reading together. Sushi for dinner would be the icing on the cake.

Please be sure to check out the Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation and Marcy at the Guido and Marcy Show.